Highway hit by mudslide reopens

OSO, WA - Six months after a hillside gave way in the Washington town of Oso, burying 43 people and blocking a state highway, the community is taking another step toward recovery with the return of normal traffic on the route.

The state Transportation Department said Monday night that state Route 530 through the area is now open to two-way, 50 mph traffic. The department most recently had estimated that full reopening would come Tuesday but said crews have finished paving and striping the new roadway.

The highway was realigned and raised as much as 20 feet in places. Crews also installed six new culverts as part of a $28 million project funded by federal emergency money. Landscaping work will continue until mid-October.